Survey: Most Americans go to college is to improve job skills

Thursday

May 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Most Americans think the main reason for going to college is to improve one’s job skills but don’t think most graduates leave college with the skills to get a job.

In a recent telephone survey of 1,000 American adults 56 percent said the primary purpose of attending college is to learn the skills needed to get a better job. But 33 percent don’t see that as the main purpose of a college education, and 11 percent are undecided.

Just 28 percent believe most college graduates have the skills to enter the workforce. However, 52 percent disagree and 20 percent are not sure.

Eighty-two percent think a college degree is at least somewhat important to finding a job, with 51 percent think it is very important. Just 15 percent feel a college degree is not very or not at all important when it comes to finding work. And 86 percent of adults continues to believe it will be difficult for these graduates to find jobs in the current economy. This includes 37 percent who say it will be very difficult. Just 11 percent don’t think it will be difficult for new grads to find employment.